Ecclesiastic Thoughts

Let’s start with everyone’s favorite: Ghosts.

 

In the King James Version of the Bible, the word ghost appears 108 times.

 

Of these, the word is never used in the sense of the disembodied spirit of someone who has died. It is used in only two ways. First, it is used in the phrase “to give up the ghost,” meaning “to die.” Second, it occurs as the title, “the Holy Ghost,”. The Bible refers to the spirits of the dead as “familiar spirits” (see, Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:11; 2 Kings 21:6; Isaiah 8:19, etc.) and warns against having anything to do with them.

 

So what exactly does the Bible tell us?

 

There are evil spirits in this world that are the fallen angels who followed Satan in rebellion against God. It’s in the Bible.

 

Revelation 12:9, NKJV. "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

 

 

 

Ghosts are real, but they are not angels from God or our dead loved ones. They are fallen angels trying to deceive us. It’s in the Bible.

 

Ephesians 6:11-12, KJV. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

 

2 Corinthians 11:14-15, NIV. "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve."

 

Can the dead haunt houses? It’s in the Bible.

 

Job 7:9-10, NKJV. “As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore."

 

 

What does the Bible say about those who communicate with familiar spirits? It's in the Bible.

 

Leviticus 19:31, NKJV. "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."

 

Can the dead come back and communicate with the living? It’s in the Bible.

 

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, NKJV. “For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun.”

 

 

If people die with unfinished business to care for, do they become ghosts and haunt the places and people they knew in life? It’s in the Bible.

 

Psalm 146:4, ESV. "When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”

 

 

Do good people become angels when they die? God’s angels are heavenly beings, not spirits of dead humans. Angels have existed before humans were created. It’s in the Bible.

 

Psalm 8:4-5, NKJV. “What is man that You [Lord] are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.”

 

 

We do not have to be afraid of Satan and his impersonations of the living and the dead, if we give our hearts to Jesus and stay away from all satanic activities such as séances, ouija boards, and other activities of spiritism. It’s in the Bible.

 

1 John 4:1,4, NKJV. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God. . . You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

James 4:7-8, NKJV. “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

 

 

If we are true to Jesus, and obey Him by faith, we do not need to be afraid of Satan’s power. It's in the Bible.

 

Luke 10:19, NKJV. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

 

Romans 8:38-39, NIV. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

Romans 8:31, NKJV. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

 

 

Let’s Recap

 

There are spirits, unseen entities, and dark powers- what we as humans, with our limited understanding, are calling ghosts- these are merely manifestations of the unseen powers that be- wether for God or for Satan, there are angels around us at all times- protecting us, or fighting for our souls. We are engaged in spiritual warfare. Now, you may be wondering- what happens after death, but I think in order to understand this best, from a Biblical standpoint, it would be more beneficial if we first discuss, the difference between spirits and souls.